Break-Aways Links Camp and School - Brief Article

Camp directors nationwide are concerned about year-round school and the encroaching school year. One answer to this threat is school-camp partnerships, such as the one developed between the New York City School Board and the American Camping Association New York Section.

Break-Aways: Partnership for Year-round Learning combines classroom learning and summer camp by integrating a three-hour literacy component into the camp day. This four-year pilot program, which began in 1998, brings New York City school children and their teachers to camp for twenty-one to twenty-eight days, giving them the opportunity to participate in nontraditional academic programming and traditional camp activities. The program combines the best of school and camp by:

* reinforcing what is learned in school

* preparing students for the coming school year

* providing opportunities for campers to build confidence

* enabling students to develop independence and leadership skills

More than 1,300 students from twenty-eight districts participated in the program during its inaugural year. In 1999, the program grew to include 4,200 students from all forty-one of New York City's school districts. By 2002, the New York City School Board hopes to expand the program to include 10,000 students.

Camp-School Partnerships

In the Break-Aways program, a camp becomes a partner with a school, hosting twenty or more children. In 1999, partnerships were established with 126 camps, and thirty camp organizations and sixty-three campsites participated. The Board of Education's goal is for 200 school/camp partnerships to exist by 2002.

Camps are responsible for incorporating a three-hour literacy-based academic component into each camp day. These educational activities may cover recreational skills, arts education, or environmental education. Some activities that campers have taken part in include:

* exploring a pond to conduct ecological experiments

* reading a map to calculate the distance that will be covered on a hike through the forest

* reading about the bridges of New York City and then visiting many of the bridges that link Manhattan and the other boroughs

How School Are Selected

Schools are selected to participate in the program by the district superintendents. School principles, with the classroom teachers' input, then choose the students who will go to camp. Selection criteria vary, but special consideration is given to students whose academic performance or social skills have improved throughout the year or those who demonstrate an academic or social need that could be addressed though the camp experience. All students selected would not otherwise be able to afford the cost of summer camp. The program also includes students living in temporary housing and those with special needs.

Since Break-Aways introduces camp to communities and families historically unfamiliar with the value of a camp, parents are often concerned about sending their children away for three to four weeks. During the first year, several parents withdrew their children from the program at the last minute. To help ease parents' concerns, the 1999 season included more parent orientation sessions, camp visits, and parent meetings.

Free to Students

Break-Aways is funded by the New York City Board of Education, grants from other government entities, and contributions from foundations and private citizens, such as Jerry Seinfeld, the Woodcock Foundation, and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation. Many of the participating camp organizations have offset their cost through their own fund-raising efforts or through in-kind contributions.

As more and more school systems look to expand learning opportunities for students, often expanding the school year, Break-Aways shows that camp offers more than simply recreation. Camp is a vital part of a child's total education.

sandy Cameron is editor-in-chief of Camping Magazine.

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